A Hero's Welcome
by piper maru duchovny
Summary: Regina watches from the outside looking in while Emma crosses boundaries once again. Potential spoilers for upcoming episodes. Emma/Regina.


**This is my first attempt at writing Swan Queen, so if they're not spot on I apologize. To be quite honest, I didn't even ship them to begin with, I was steadfast against them. And then I watched the season 2 premiere and my mind changed. **

**Dedicated to the most wonderful, beautiful, crazy enigma in my life, Tory. Always. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing recognizable and seek to gain no profit in this endeavor. **

They're back. She stands on the outside looking in on the family's reunion; that's what they've become, a family, while she's still as alone as she ever was. Henry has his arms wrapped around his mother in wild abandon, tear streaked face pressed to her neck, and she's hugging him back with equal force. She feels like a voyeur peeking in on something that is none of her business. Her feet are like cement, holding her to the grassy knoll, as her heart crumbles at the sight of mother and child. Arms wrapped protectively around her middle, she bows her head and wills the tears away.

–

Emma kisses her son's cheek for what feels like the billionth time in the few minutes they'd been home and wipes her teary eyes on the sleeve of her shirt. Gently, she nudges Henry's shoulder and nods her head toward his ecstatic grandparents. She smiles as he leaps into his grandmother's embrace, far too big to be lifted the way Snow easily picks him up, but not seeming to mind when his grandfather wraps his arms around the both of them. Her gaze then turns, falling on her son's other mother. Regina looks sad, small – smaller than Emma has seen anyone look in a very long time. She squeezes her father's shoulder and nods her head toward the mayor before taking off across the patch of grass.

"Hey," she whispers and reaches out to brush her fingers over Regina's elbow. "You okay?"

Regina looks up at her then and offers a small, halfhearted smile. "Shouldn't I be asking you that, savior? Seeing as you've just returned from a land filled with monsters you had never even dreamed of."

"Oh, I don't know about those monsters but your mother is pretty terrifying." Emma's eyebrow quirks up and a small grin starts to grow. "She's kind of like something out of a horror movie."

"Mmm." Regina smirks. "Cora's quite the people person, isn't she?"

"Not the words I would choose." Emma fingers curl around Regina's elbow again and stay there. "You don't have to worry about her anymore, okay? We took care of it."

"For now," Regina counters, unwilling to underestimate her mother. She shakes her head and sighs. "Thank you, Emma. For what you did... with the wraith."

"Don't thank me for that," Emma breathed. "It was the right thing to do."

"And defending me to the townspeople," she added. "And your own family. I know you don't particularly care for me and that I've done things-"

"Are you trying," Emma cuts her off. "For Henry. Are you trying?"

"Yes. Of course."

"Then that's what matters." The blond ran her hand through her hair, looking down at her feet and then up to meet Regina's gaze. "I don't hate you, Madame Mayor. In another life, you and I... We might..."

Her stomach twisted up in knots, wondering what words rested on the precipice of Emma's tongue. With a shaking hand, she reached out to tuck a blond curl behind her ear. "In another life...?"

Emma surged forward then, slanting her mouth over the mayor's, and threading her fingers into the short raven locks. Actions had always spoke louder for Emma Swan. She moved a hand down to cup Regina's waist, pulling her impossibly closer and pushing her back against the tree. The raven haired queen gasped as her back collided with the rough bark and Emma made the most of the opportunity.

Regina pushed back when Emma let a soft, breathy moan slip past her lips. She was hyper aware of the presence of the others but nothing had felt quite so right in such a long time that she didn't much care. Her pointer and middle fingers curled around Emma's belt loop and she used them to yank the blond's hips into her own. When she heard the clearing of throats, she reluctantly pulled back from the kiss and smiled up at the woman she once considered her greatest threat. "How's that for a hero's welcome?"


End file.
